Clarke MacArthur: “The Revenant”

Perseverance and persistence personified. That is the simple way to describe Ottawa Senators veteran left-winger Clarke MacArthur. From the start of his career with the Buffalo Sabres, to a brief stint with the Atlanta Thrashers, then three seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and to his current time with the Senators, MacArthur has been a picture of resilience. This NHL feature article reveals what makes C-Mac so special.

Who Is Clarke MacArthur?

Born and raised in Lloydminster, Alberta, Clarke MacArthur was a star long before he donned and National Hockey League jersey. Needing to be persistent early on in his career, due to his small size (5’ 4”) at the time, MacArthur was passed over in the Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam Draft. Sticking with the Strathcona Warriors, C-Mac put up 99 points in 38 games and was the Warriors 2000–01 MVP. Although it wasn’t instant – those numbers were a springboard to Clarke’s career.

That spectacular season earned MacArthur a tryout with the WHL Medicine Hat Tigers but he was cut prior to the 2001-02 season. Undeterred, MacArthur signed on with the Drayton Valley Thunder in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) and his 62 points in 62 games helped the Thunder win the AJHL Championship. Sprouting substantially in height, during his only season with the Thunder, C-Mac joined the Tigers for the 2002-03 WHL campaign and he was finally on a NHL fast track.

MacArthur posted 75 points, in 70 matches as a WHL rookie, and the Buffalo Sabres picked him in the 3rd round (75th OA) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. MacArthur was a key cog in the Medicine Hat 2004 WHL Championship team that played in the Memorial Cup – Canadian Junior Hockey’s equivalent to the Stanley Cup. The Kelowna Rockets stopped the Tigers run in the semifinals, but C-Mac was recognized with a Memorial Cup All-Star Team selection and bigger stages were ahead.

Clarke MacArthur Stats

Paving his path to the NHL, and eventually to the Ottawa Senators 2017 Eastern Conference Final Series vs the Pittsburgh Penguins, MacArthur had three-season stints in Alberta Bantam and Junior Hockey, the Western Hockey League and the American Hockey League. Prior to joining the Tigers in Medicine Hat, MacArthur posted 225 points (77 G 148 A) and amassed 128 penalty minutes over 123 matches playing on teams in Lloydminster, Strathcona and Drayton Valley. Continuing to show he was a playmaker, scorer and wasn’t afraid to “muck it up” C-Mac recorded 224 points (88 G 136 A) and spent 297 minutes in the sin-bin during 190 Medicine Hat Tigers matches in the WHL.

A stay with the AHL Rochester Americans (2006-09) was next up and C-Mac continued to produce as he potted 158 points (56 G 102 A) over 163 games with the Buffalo Sabres NHL affiliate. Add up all that persistence and it shakes out to 221 goals, 386 assists and 607 points over 476 regular season battles to earn his NHL dream. C-Mac added 86 points (37 G 49 A) during 86 playoff games as a Junior. During his run with the Tigers (2002-2006) MacArthur joined future NHL stars like Ryan Getzlaf, Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron and Senators teammate Dion Phaneuf, on Canada’s 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship winning Crew. That dominating squad was made possible partly by the 2004-05 NHL lockout as guys like Bergeron already had NHL games under their belt.

Unfortunately, C-Mac’s full potential won’t be realized as injuries have decimated his NHL career that’s spanned 522 regular season games. Those contests were played on four different teams from his rookie season in 2006-07 through the 2016-17 NHL campaign with Ottawa. MacArthur began his career in Buffalo and he posted 88 points (44 G 44 A) during 208 games – including 21 contests as a member of the Panthers. After a short stay in Sunshine, Florida, C-Mac posted a career high 62 points (21 G 41 A) during his first season with Toronto and went on to record 125 points (49 G 76 A) during 195 matches as a Maple Leaf. Moving to Canada’s Capital, MacArthur was solid as he put up 91 points (40 G 51 A) over 141 Senators games – before suffering a string of concussions.

Results / FixturesOttawa Senators

Best NHL Left Wingers

C-Mac played four regular season contests in both the 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup seasons but he did return for the 2017 playoffs. Sparking the Senators, and their fan base, MacArthur played in all 19 Ottawa postseason matches and he lit the lamp three times while adding six helpers. At the time of publishing (9/07/17) Clarke and Family are mulling over his injury concerns as they decide on whether he will play during 2017-18 NHL season. If they feel he can do it – he will go into the first season of a three-year $4.75 million dollar contract run that makes him a NHL UFA in 2019-20. We hope health over money is the main mantra during that very tough decision making process.

Ottawa also sends out Mike Hoffman and Zack Smith as part of the Sens top three lines on offence. Hoffman is rated up with players like Brad Marchand in Boston, Alex Ovechkin in Washington and Max Pacioretty in Montreal. MacArthur and Smith fall in among left wingers like Patrick Maroon in Edmonton and James Neal in Nashville who is currently helping the Predators battle the Penguins in the 2017 NHL Cup Final. Everyone has a favorite left wing player in hockey – tell us who you like by messaging us on Facebook and we may feature them in a future “They Guy” L-2-E article.

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